We earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Deepfakes are wrecking influencers' credibility, one fake ad at a time E arlier this year, Emily Schuman, the creator of the lifestyle blog Cupcakes and Cashmere, saw a photo of herself she didn't recognize on Instagram . In a sponsored ad, Schuman, who has more than 500,000 Instagram followers, is holding up a vial of GLP-1 drugs, advertising the telehealth company Gala. There was just one problem: Schuman had never heard of Gala and had nothing to do with the ad. The ad was based on a digitally altered version of a selfie Schuman had taken in her car and posted on Instagram years earlier.

A Teen Girl's Death Is Prompting Calls to Ban Choking in Porn Despite the many health risks, sexual strangulation has become popular among young people--with some experts blaming adult content for normalizing it. An Australian teenage girl's death, suspected to be preceded by consensual "choking" during sex, has renewed calls to ban showing the act in porn . This latest tragedy, reportedly believed to involve sexual strangulation, comes just months after the UK banned porn showing the practice. But despite all the noise, most people still aren't aware of just how dangerous the trend is. Sexual strangulation or "choking" during sex, as it's referred to colloquially, has become wildly popular--especially among adults aged 18 to 35, despite the risk of severe injury, brain damage, and even death.

Images of real children--including a member of a European royal family--were used to create some of the 350 ads containing child sexual abuse. Lawmakers say they plan to investigate. Early last month, Meta deleted around 50 ads posted on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads that directly included child sexual abuse material (CSAM), following reporting by WIRED. At the time, the company said that most of the abusive ads had been published prior to it rolling out new AI tools designed to "better detect and block" harmful ads being uploaded. That AI system, however, doesn't appear to have been entirely effective.

Look Up Trending Now Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Creator Playbook Say More Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Switch Off Mashable Voices Mashable Selects Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List All Series From Laverne Cox's powerful chat with Keke Palmer to MUNA on'Gaydar.' Shannon Connellan is Mashable's Senior Editor, General Assignments, based in London. She has been Mashable's UK Editor (and still manages the illustrious UK team) and Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives searching for . A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror, and loves to nerd out with movie stars, filmmakers, and TV creators . All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.

Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Creator Playbook Trending Now Say More Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Switch Off Mashable Voices Mashable Selects Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List All Series Welcome to the age of'credential catfishing' From fake PA students to pretend NFL players, impressive credentials can earn trust before anyone verifies them. Olivia Tauber is the deputy editor of digital culture, covering creators, media, movies, beauty, and more. Based in New York, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Cut, Teen Vogue, Complex, and Interview Magazine. She holds a Master's degree in Journalism from NYU and a Bachelor's from the University of Michigan. She also runs Fan Mail, a weekly pop-culture newsletter.

Mashable Voices Look Up Trending Now Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Say More Mashable Selects Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Switch Off In My Bag VidCon with Mashable All Series Stars and fans remember a singular talent with a big heart, big dreams, and even bigger hair. Olivia Tauber is the deputy editor of digital culture, covering creators, media, movies, beauty, and more. Based in New York, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Cut, Teen Vogue, Complex, and Interview Magazine. She holds a Master's degree in Journalism from NYU and a Bachelor's from the University of Michigan. She also runs Fan Mail, a weekly pop-culture newsletter.

Meta began rolling out a broader Activity from other businesses control in July 2026. It's replacing Your activity off Meta technologies and expanding an older ad setting called Activity information from ad partners. The new control decides whether businesses can use the information they already send to personalize ads, Feed content and AI responses. To adjust this setting, open Instagram, go to your profile, tap the three-line menu and open Accounts Center. Look for Activity from other businesses.

Say More Look Up Mashable Selects Mashable Voices Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Safety Net Creator Hub Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Switch Off Trending Now In My Bag All Series A leaked invitation says the Goop founder will honor OpenAI's CEO at a private Hamptons dinner. Her AI ties help explain why. Olivia Tauber is the deputy editor of digital culture, covering creators, media, movies, beauty, and more. Based in New York, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Cut, Teen Vogue, Complex, and Interview Magazine. She holds a Master's degree in Journalism from NYU and a Bachelor's from the University of Michigan.

On Tuesday, OpenAI released ChatGPT for Teens, an age-gated version of its chatbot designed for young users. The company first announced it was working on a system to automatically identify teens and restrict their usage of ChatGPT last September, following the death of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who, as alleged in a lawsuit filed by his parents, took his own life after ChatGPT acted as an enabler. "There's no need for a teen to create a new account or change anything; if we predict you're under 18, or you've told us so, this becomes your default experience," Lauren Jonas, OpenAI's head of youth and families, told Engadget. Make no mistake, kids are already using ChatGPT at an incredible scale. At the start of last year, the Pew Research Center found about a quarter of US teens were using the chatbot for their schoolwork.

Follow this section to personalize your feed and get instant alerts. Follow Go to your personalized feed WHY FOLLOW? Smart Alerts: Get notified about major news as it happens. Follow this tag to personalize your feed and get instant alerts. Follow Go to your personalized feed WHY FOLLOW? Smart Alerts: Get notified about major news as it happens. Australia's new social media law took effect on Dec. 10, 2025, raising the age to open or maintain social media accounts to 16.